Family Welcomes Triplets

Meet Athena, Aurora and Aspen. They were born on October 15th and they're the first set of triplets to be delivered at St. A's since last November.

"They were born one day before I was thirty two weeks along, so they just needed a little help with breathing right away and now just kind of feeding...and growing, really," says mom of the triplets, Angela Becker. "They didn't have too many issues. We were pretty lucky that way."

Angela and Brandon began making trips to Minneapolis earlier this year to begin the invitro process. And even though Angela is a twin, and twins run in her family, the couple says they didn't expect triplets.

"They told us there was a possibility of our egg splitting, like one in a thousand, and that happened to us! We got three," says Becker.

Now, because the little ones were born so early, they were taken straight to the NICU[1] and have been there for almost a month now.

"It's nerve wracking knowing they're going to be in the hospital, but we had a lot of time to prepare. Knowing that the first several weeks of their life they'd be here," says Becker. "I think that's a little easier than just having them all of a sudden pre-mature...not expecting that."

And even though chances of delivering preemies when you're having triplets is common, it still requires a massive effort from hospital staff.

"That night we were caught a little bit off guard, but truly the response from the team and getting the nurses in and the physicians in because you never know what to expect with a triplet delivery," says Stephanie Goroski, St. Alexius Medical Center[1]. "You plan for the worst and hope for the best. And we were fortunate that this delivery was seamless."

Being a new parent is exciting, but when the kids outnumber the parents, it can be overwhelming.

There's only two of us and three of them," says Becker.

Even though newborns are a handful, especially when it comes to triplets, Angela and Brandon say they are excited.